30 mins in the home gym to maintain some upper body strength .Bench press , fly's , triceps extensions , curls , pull ups , pull downs .Not done any weights for a few weeks and it was all a bit of an effort .I did just manage to push out 6 reps of 100kg on the bench though . I don't know why I always want to be able to push 100kgs . I guess I like upper body strength for the Karate/Kickboxing even though it is a burden to carry round on the fell running . And , 100kg is my bench mark .

The long awaited introduction of the"Panther" to fell running .The weather on the day was pretty cold and there was still sheet ice on the paths up to the top (as the results page says"treacherous conditions") so , I was fully expecting the panther to find a warm spot in the pub and await my return . But , she decided to give it a go anyway ! I think she did really well to overcome the fear of steep slopes and icy conditions . She also managed to get it done within an hour to earn herself a finishers certificate . This was a particular surprise as I find out afterwards she stopped to drink a Large whisky she was offered on the top ! Incredible . I have warned her about excepting drinks from strange men in the mountains but she now thinks this is what happens at all fell races . The start . The Panther can be seen loitering about halfway back on the right hand side of the photo . Ready to pounce . The check point at the top with the devils chair in the background . This is where they were giving out whisky(I didn't realise this until afterwards,or,I might have taken a few minutes longer to finish myself) Looking back from the check point before retracing my steps back to the start/finish line . Somewhere back there the panther is lurking .

Navigating the "treacherous conditions"

It sounds like I'm taking the mick a bit , which maybe I am , but the conditions were bad enough for one competitor to take a slip , tumble and break his arm in three places .

A quick wander up to the "Devils Chair" for a last recce of the race route we hope to do on Boxing day . It was cold , icy and windy . The Panther didn't have much of a spring in her step until the shops in Bishops Castle about an hour and a half later . Oh well , I think she'll get it done in less than an hour on the day (every one under a hour gets a certificate) especially if I promise her muled wine at the Stipperstones inn afterwards . A tree View from top of the path View looking east . You can see the Wrekin in the distance (the scene of yesterdays pilfering)

Hadn't been up the Wrekin for a while so thought I would give it a blast . Parked in Wellington car park and ran up the path on the east side as usual . 18 mins to the top . Not my fastest time but OK . When I was running down the opposite side I found a decent sized log at the side of the path . I thought it would be good to vary the training so put it on my shoulders and tried to run down with it . Run , hobbled and walked to the opposite side to which I started , dumped the log by the road for later retrieval , then ran back round the side of the Wrekin eyeing up future possible logs for exercise . OK , it's a fair cop . I am really thinking of fuel for my wood burner . I recon , so long as I only pinch the stuff that's obviously been discarded some time ago and isn't the stuff the forestry commission are currently chopping down I can be conscience free . Can't I ? There is also a limit to how much I can carry (shame I can't get my truck in there I could really do some pilfering).

A quick 30 mins up to "White Nancy", along Kerridge , down the side and back .

White Nancy on top of the hill

Training for Mrs L (AKA "The Panther") to get used to the "steep" bits in preparation for "The Devils Chair Dash" fell race we are hoping to get to on boxing day . If it all goes according to plan , this will be the her first fell race .

Although not fast going down hill , she is doing really well to overcome her fear of steep terrain .

9 miles 2600ft . My second run of this race . I didn't think I was going to be very fast as I still have a dodgy ankle . I wasn't fast but did manage to knock off 4 mins from last years time . I was slower going down hill again so I must be getting slightly faster going up hill . Photo courtesy of Phil Johnson

John (not so lightning) Nightingale

40 something, From Birmingham, England. moved to Shropshire, with wife. Son and daughter moved in a couple of years later.
Lucky enough to Fly aeroplanes for a living.
Runs in the hills and mountains. Likes real ale more than he should do.

FRA Race Definitions

A fell race is one run on fell, hill or mountain terrain and shall be categorised as follows :Category “A”a. Should average not less than 250’ (76m) climb/mile (1.6k).b. Should not have more than 20% of the race distance on road.c. Should be at least one mile (1.6k) in length.Category “B”a. Should average not less than 125’ (38m) climb/mile (1.6k).b. Should not have more than 30% of the race distance on road.Category “C”a. Should average not less than 100’ (30.4m) climb/mile (1.6k).b. Should not have more than 40% of the race distance on road.c. Should contain some genuine fell terrain.a. A category “L” (long) race is twelve miles (19.3k) or over.b. A category “M” (medium) race is six miles (9.6k) and over but under twelve (19.3k).c. A category “S” (short) race is under six miles (9.6k).